From the Past
by dragon's kitty
Summary: Aang's world has been flipped upside down since he learned that he was the avatar. Now that he has achieved the Avatar State, memories of the past resurface. Could the person in his dreams help him to face his destiny? Zutara Taang Sukka
1. Chapter 1

"_Wow…you got your tattoo already! That's so awesome! Did it hurt? Why did they shave off all your hair…oh, right, so they could tattoo your head. You look so weird without all your hair!"_

_He didn't know who he was talking to, but he seemed to be really happy…and young. The figure in front of him was a blur, like he didn't remember the person's face. He heard the person laugh, and then a hand was placed on his bald head. _

"_Yes, a little, and you would look funny with hair. I've never seen you with hair, my young friend."_

_He jumped up (with a little bending assistance, of course) and hugged the person tight. "I can't wait till I get _my_ tattoo!" _

_Arms wrapped around him to help him stay up, and began walking to the bison stables. He instantly recognized the Eastern Air Temple, and looked around curiously. "Where's everybody?" _

"_Music lessons." The person said quietly, walking over to a pile of hay._

"_Oh…"_

_The person put him down gently, and then airbended some hay into the stalls. He watched the bison take to their breakfast eagerly, and he laughed when his own bison had to wriggle his way into a group of other, sort-of small bison to get at his food._

"_They do look silly, don't they?" He turned around to see the person sit down and pat the space next to them. He raced over and sat down, wondering what they would do now._

"_Hey, I've got a deal to make with you." _

_He looked up at the person curiously. "What is it?"_

"_If you can get your tattoo before you turn thirteen, I swear that I'll be there to hold your hand through the whole thing."_

_His brow furrowed. "Before I'm thirteen…" He brightened. "You want me to be the youngest Airbender in the history of the temples! And you'll be there for the _whole thing_?" _

"_The whole thing." The person promised. The person glanced around before whispering quietly, "Come spirits or high winds, I will be there to hold your hand for the entire tattooing."_

_He blinked rapidly at the person's choice of words, and then hugged the person around their neck. "Thank you ………! I promise to do it! I'm only eight, I've got forever to become a master!"_

_The person laughed and hugged him tight._

&&&

"Aang! Aang, wake up! We need to get going!"

Aang opened his eyes slowly, wincing as the sun shone directly into his face. He sat up and stretched.

"Come on, Twinkle-Toes, you've never slept in this late!" Toph said, stomping the ground impatiently. "We have to find somewhere to replace Appa's saddle."

"I'm sorry Toph, Katara…I just had the weirdest dream, but it was a nice dream."

Sokka looked over at him incredulously as he got off of Appa's paw. "Food didn't eat me, did it?"

Aang laughed. "No, Sokka, I had a dream that I was back at the Eastern Air Temple and I was talking to someone. They made a deal with me about getting my tattoo, that if I got it before I was thirteen, then they would stay for the entire tattooing."

Katara smiled as she doused the fire. "That does sound nice…maybe the Guru would know who it was. Did you want to head back there?"

Aang began to shake his head, but then brightened. "Yeah! They might have some extra saddles there!"

The Earth King looked around at the interaction. "Who's the Guru, and where's this temple?"

Aang jumped. He had forgotten that the Earth King was with them. "The Guru is a spiritual master who was alive around the same time as my teacher, and the temple is where we're going."

"Okay. Come on, Bosco!" The bear growled loudly before they all took their spots on Appa's back.

"Yip-yip!" Aang said loudly, slapping the reins gently on Appa's head. The group took off, soaring through the sky gently."

&&&

Azula sat on her throne with a bored look on her face. Ever since she took over Ba-Sing-Se, there really hadn't much to do other than paper work and slowly changing the city from the inside out. Dai Li Agents were posted all over the city, reporting any resistance that took place. So far, nothing was going against her plans.

She glanced over at her older brother, smirking to herself. Of course Zuko had fallen neatly into her plans. He may have changed, but he was still the same pushover that thought that father had forgiven him and was going home. He hadn't left hers, Mai's, or Ty Lee's sight ever since he had joined their side, just in case he released Uncle to try and make amends with his guilt.

Not that he seemed to vocalize the guilt in any way. Azula's smirk came to the surface as she thought of how neatly things had fallen into place.

An agent ran into the room, bowing quickly and not waiting for permission to speak. "Highness! We're being attacked by the Blue Spirit!"

Azula stood up, not noticing Zuko's jaw drop before snapping shut. "Well, then take him out!"

The agent was sweating. "We've tried, but we can't predict his move…" He turned at the sound of running and tried to earthbend the doors shut, but a dark figure flew into the room before he got the chance to close the doors completely.

Azula gaped at the somewhat familiar blue and white mask that had donned the wanted posters for months. She recovered. "Who are you? What are you trying to pull?" She asked loudly, praying that Mai and Ty Lee would be here soon. She shouldn't have trusted the front doors to the Dai Li…

The figure didn't show that he had heard, instead racing up to the throne and waving his double swords in Azula's and Zuko's faces. Zuko took a step back and tried to burn the intruder, but was knocked to the ground by the blunt edge of a sword. He felt something get tucked into his belt, and watched dazed as the figure escaped through a window.

"After him!" Azula screeched, attempting to shoot lightening after the intruder. The Blue Spirit disappeared in the surroundings of the palace, narrowly dodging the lightening attack.

Zuko sat up and felt around his belt, pulling out a piece of paper. He stood up as he read it, and then paled. "Azula…"

"What is it?" She asked angrily, fuming over the intruder's escape. She snatched the paper from Zuko's hands, before paling herself.

"The dragon of the mountains flies free, and will be the downfall of whoever stands in his way." She read loudly. She tore the piece of paper up. "Check Iroh's dungeon cell, now!" She ordered the agents, before falling backwards into her chair again, fuming.

Well_ this_ had been unexpected. Azula had expected Zuko to try and bail Uncle out, but unless he had become a great actor over the years, she knew that he was just surprised at this as she.

When the agents came back, sweating and shaking nervously, some nearby candles blazed up dangerously. "Find them both! Hunt them down, now!" She ordered loudly, holding her fingers up in threat. Whoever this Blue Spirit was under that mask was going to die a painful death when she got her hands on him.

&&&

Guru Pathik opened his eyes when Appa landed in front of him. He smiled widely, stood up and bowed. "Ah…you have returned. And you have brought company; this is excellent. Come, come, I have something to show you all." He walked off in the direction of the old stables. Aang jumped off and followed him quickly, feeling the floor shake as the others got down and followed Pathik as well.

"Betcha anything only Aang understands what it is." Toph mumbled under her breath, glad that she was still able to 'see' in this place. She was very tempted to trip Aang for not helping anyone down, but she didn't dare in front of everyone else. They would all yell at her for being inconsiderate towards Aang.

After the group turned the corner, the whole group (minus the poor, confused Earth King) gasped in wonder.

"Our stuff!" Katara shouted happily, running over to touch all the water-tribe items that had been lost in the desert.

"My weapons!" Sokka ran over to the bag off weapons, hugging and kissing each one happily.

"The saddle!" Aang shouted in amazement, jumping over and running his hands all over the saddle they knew so well.

"I'm glad to see you all so happy." A voice said from behind them. Toph turned around and grinned.

"Hey! It's my friend, that guy you called Iroh!"

They all whirled around. Sure enough, the old firebender stood there in all his Earth-peasant reformed glory, holding a tray of steaming cups of tea.

"Wa…wait a minute. When did you get here?" Sokka asked loudly. "Katara said that you stayed behind to give her time to get Aang out of the underground city. You were most definitely captured, so how…?"

"Surprisingly, the Blue Spirit managed to get me out before too long. He didn't come anywhere close to the temple, but told me that he had hidden your things from the desert into a cave nearby. With the help of Pathik and his bison friend, I was able to get all your things here." Iroh sat down and placed the tray down on the ground. "Now, who wants some tea?"

Everyone took a minute to process the information, sitting down near Iroh and taking cups to sip. Aang paused before taking his first drink of tea and looked at Pathik, confused. "Bison friend?"

"Ah, yes, after you left I was wandering around and found a few bison in a hidden valley nearby. There was also a shrine with pictures of Airbenders and airbending all over it. I will show you later where I found all these things. One bison is even expecting calves."

Everyone was startled by this revelation. "Wow…that's incredible!" Katara said, breaking the silence. "So Appa _isn't _the last of his kind?"

"It would appear so." Iroh said calmly, sipping his tea.

"Appa will be happy." Toph said after placing her cup on the ground. "Now all we need is some more lemurs for Momo, and everyone will be happy!"

Momo trilled at his place from Bosco's back, jumping down to look for food. Everyone laughed at his antics.

Aang stopped laughing suddenly, taking on a solemn look. "But…I thought Zuko was the Blue Spirit?"

Everyone was silent, looking to Iroh for answers. Iroh sipped his tea, let out a sigh, and looked up at the questioning teens. "So he was. He officially gave up that title after releasing your bison from his prison. I know for a fact that the Blue Spirit that got me out of Ba-Sing-Se was _not_ my nephew, even though he had changed."

Katara stood up angrily. "Changed? Right, so that's why he turned against us and you, taking his stupid sister's side and…"

"Ms. Katara," Iroh said gently, "how do you think I got out of the crystals the Dai Li had put me in?"

Katara's rant was cut short, her mind reeling at the revelation. She sat down in a slump.

"Zuko broke you out…?" She asked quietly. Everyone looked expectantly at Iroh.

"Yes, he did. He quickly went over a plan with me, I agreed and helped him fine-tune it a bit, and then he broke me out and raced off to 'help' his sister. I waited to lower suspicion for Zuko, and then I came out to help you out." Iroh took a sip of tea. "I'm sure if you two hadn't talked in the cave, he wouldn't have gotten up the courage to even go ahead with the plan." He added, directing his comment to Katara.

Katara was dumbstruck, looking down at her hands as her mind continued to reel.

"Zuko is smarter than he lets on." Iroh said proudly. He placed his cup down. "Now, I assume you want to learn firebending, young Avatar?"

Aang nodded. "But first…" He turned to look at Pathik, who was sitting silently behind Iroh. "I had a dream this morning. In the dream, I was talking to a fellow Airbender who I couldn't see very well, and they promised that they would be there for me when I received my tattoo. Do you know who that was?"

Pathik took on a solemn look. "An Airbender?" He repeated questioningly.

Aang nodded. "We were here, at the Eastern Temple, sitting with the bison. I was eight years old at the time."

Pathik thought silently for several minutes. The group shifted several times in their seats, wondering what the Guru was going to say.

"There was an Airbender, five years older than you, who you loved to visit with." Pathik admitted slowly, obviously holding back information from Aang.

"Then how come I don't remember?" Aang asked loudly. "I don't even know the person's name, what they looked like, or anything!"

Pathik shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say much else. You were friends with the other Airbender, who treated you like a younger brother, and you two were close. I'm sad to say that the Airbender disappeared right around the time you got your tattoo." He looked troubled, like he was saying too much, but continued. "In your grief over the disappearance, an ancient art was used to suppress your memories of the person."

"But why am I remembering these things _now_?" Aang demanded loudly.

"Your achievement of the Avatar state has loosened the hold on your memories. You may even remember everything about that person. But, until you do, I am not allowed to tell you anything, just as no Airbender was allowed to say anything." Pathik answered, rubbing his throat gently. "I'm afraid I have said a bit much." He said quietly. "I will show you to your rooms, and then tomorrow I will show you the shrine."

Aang looked around at his friends, all of whom wore confused looks. They got up and followed the Guru to their rooms, before Toph, Katara, and Iroh took Aang out to a courtyard to practice bending.

&&&

First attempt at an Avatar fanfic. Pairings will be Zutara, Taang, Sukka, and any more that may pop up. I will try to keep with all the characters in-character, though some occasions may cause some differences. Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Apologies! First, for the....er...two year stretch between chapters. And then posting without doing an intro. Ha...ha...

If I owned Avatar, would I be writing fanfics? Honestly?

* * *

_Aang woke up in his bed, the wind beckoning him to the door. He rubbed his eyes sleepily before trotting off to the door. The wind tugged him out of the room and down a hallway, almost whispering its fear and apprehension in his ear. _

_He stepped in something wet, but couldn't see what it was in the dark. He shook his foot and thought nothing of it, continuing to walk down the hall. _

_He saw two people down the hall and hurried towards them, his feet splashing with each step he took. Instinctively he brushed at his legs, his hands getting wet._

_In a flash of bright light the two figures were revealed. He stopped abruptly and examined them in disbelief. It couldn't be…could it?_

_Aang watched a younger version of himself kneel next to the person he had dreamed of the night before. He was crying and screaming as the person struggled to sit up straight on the wall. _

_Light illuminated the entire hallway, and he stumbled backwards as the splashes all over the hallway turned red._

_The person against the wall was crying as well while attempting to calm the younger him down. The person had to stop talking to cough up blood, adding to the rivulets of red running down their body._

_The person on the wall turned their head to look at the real him, their stormy eyes clouded with pain and sorrow. _

"_I'm sorry…"_

* * *

Toph woke up groggily to someone whimpering in their sleep. She tilted her head and felt around the room, finding the source coming from her student. She shook him slightly, first with her hand on his shoulder, and then some Earthbending tremors. This finally startled Aang into a half-awake state.

"Twinkle-toes! Stop moaning! Some people are trying to sleep!" She scolded him in a quiet voice. She felt his heartbeat slow down and felt his body relax back into sleep, muttering something about 'hurt' and 'blood'. She sighed and proceeded to lie back down, only to find that she couldn't go back to sleep.

She grumbled angrily as she shuffled out of the room the Guru had given to Aang and herself to see if anyone else was up.

After finding the rest of the temple's occupants asleep, she sighed exasperatedly and walked outside, hoping to find an open area to practice her bending. Her brow furrowed as she walked past an area with two other people far from the temple grounds. Any other person might've missed them…

From this distance she recognized one of them as Guru Pathik. Curious, she walked within hearing distance and stood still, wondering if the person with the Guru was the "Blue Spirit" everyone had been talking about.

"…coming back. I wouldn't be surprised if he had another "dream" tonight." Guru finished, his heart rate pulsing calmly, though with a bit of agitation. The person in front of him swore under their breath.

"Don't worry," the other person said. Toph jumped at the hoarseness at which he spoke. Well, if it was a he. The only way to truly tell was to go over there and send strong vibrations up the person's figure. From Toph's position of secrecy, she couldn't move without causing them to notice her.

"I'm leaving for Ba-Sing-Se tonight. They need time. The Avatar needs time."

"But under the rouse of 'Blue Spirit'? You defied them once already…"

A chuckle. "I'm not that stupid, Pathik. I'll just slip back in, cause some trouble, and zoom on over to another conquered territory and cause some more trouble. It will distract the witch from continuing her silly games, and divert troops from devastating the other territories. The dreams should lessen after I'm far away…"

Toph's eyes widened. The Blue Spirit was giving Aang the dreams? But…how could he? He had never so much as contacted Aang! Her brow furrowed in confusion. This conversation was giving her a headache…

"I better go." Toph jolted out of her thoughts at the declaration. "The Avatar might be having a nightmare. Go check on him."

Toph felt the Guru bow respectively. "May the spirits be with you." He said softly as the Blue Spirit ran off and leapt onto an Ostrich-horse. Toph counted to five silently before making her way back to the temple, slipping back into hers and Aang's rooms before the Guru came by to check on him.

"Guru?" Toph asked sleepily, sitting up in her sleeping bag.

"Is everything alright? I thought I heard noises." The Guru lied.

"He was having a nightmare not too long ago…" Toph continued in her fake, sleepy voice, perfected throughout the years to fool her parents. "Woke me up."

The Guru nodded, thanked her, and left the room. She snuggled into her sheets and closed her eyes. Maybe things would make more sense in the morning…

* * *

A lone fire lit a grandiose room dully, as if the fire was reluctant to share it's light with anyone. Even Zuko, who sat hunched over it, could not discern anything from the flickering tongues or flame.

He sighed and rolled his shoulders, feeling the kinks of sitting up for so long painfully unwind with a sort of sickening pop. He stood up slowly and walked over to the bed his sister had provided him and flopped onto it face first. The questions that swirled in his head were no different than before, and the answers still as vague.

Who was the new Blue Spirit? Granted, he had given up the title, but who had been there to pick it up after he had gone? It wasn't a Waterbender, that much he knew. It had to be someone from the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation: they were the two nations that were well known for their prowess with weapons.

_That's not true._ He reminded himself. _That Water Tribe boy uses weapons…but not swords. He seems to specialize in spears and clubs, which is probably due to the lack of metals in the Water Tribe areas._ With that thought he came back to the same frustrating dead end conclusion and gave up.

Why had the Blue Spirit let his uncle go? Whoever it was certainly held no loyalty to his uncle, but had known enough about him to write the riddle that had been tucked into Zuko's belt. It saved him the headache of sneaking around Azula to do the same…but the fact that he hadn't gotten to go see his uncle one last time shook the fire prince to the core.

For three long years, Uncle Iroh had been a guiding hand in his selfish attempt to regain his honor and return home. For three long years Zuko had put up with Pai Sho games, tea, and his uncle's constant cryptic advice, and Zuko had reacted like a normal teenager trying to set out on his own: self confident and foolish.

Zuko missed that now, and wanted nothing more than to go find his uncle and have just one last game over tea, and to be advised on his Firebending methods.

He twisted around on the bed to stare at the ceiling, his gold eyes clouded in confusion. What did Azula have up her sleeve? His sister couldn't deny the help he had been when she had faced down the Avatar and his Waterbending friend, but he had cut off his ponytail. That alone would cause suspicion amongst all the Firebenders. At least he couldn't be tied to his uncle's escape; he honestly had had no contact with the new Blue Spirit.

After twisting around in the blankets for several more minutes, the formerly banished prince finally fell asleep, muttering his childhood mantra until the two dragons from his previous sickness came circling to him.

"Azula always lies. Azula _always lies_. Azula always lies…"

* * *

Azula sat in the royal bedroom, nursing a cup of hot tea and staring out the window. Mai and Tai Li had gone to bed ages ago, leaving the Fire Princess to her musings. Everything had worked out so smoothly (well of course, she was the Fire Princess).

That is, until her uncle had gone missing the previous day. No, not missing: he had been released.

She would've loved to lay the blame on her older brother, but he had been by her side practically every second since they had ganged up on the Avatar and his pathetic friend. Several eyewitnesses would support this fact, even if somewhat hesitantly. The only leads she had were the mysterious "Blue Spirit" who had allowed him to escape, and Zhao's letters claiming Zuko had been the Blue Spirit.

She entertained, again, the idea of Zuko getting someone to play the role for him, but dismissed it just as quickly. He had had no time to do such a thing, she would've noticed if he had even tried.

Even though she hadn't seen him in three years, she knew him well enough to know that the look of pure shock was real, and not even remotely faked. He was a horrible actor, unlike herself. He may have been the Blue Spirit in the past, but there was a new Spirit now.

She took another sip of tea and sighed, looking over at the letter that was due to her father. She was reluctant to send it off to him, as he would definitely place the blame on her shoulders.

Azula was beginning to fear her father. Before, she would've never believed his threats of disownment for a second. But the months apart had sharpened her spoiled mind to the reality of her father's temper…and now the constant reminder of innocent idealism that had been punished was now by her side.

She shuddered violently and put the mug down to rub her arms. What was going on with her? Mental betrayal? Did she want to end up like Zuko, shamed and exiled for the rest of his life? She knew her father wouldn't let Zuko back in without the Avatar, and her promise of regained honor was hopeful…at best.

Before she dared to start feeling sympathetic towards her brother, she grabbed the letter and sealed it shut. She tied the letter to her father's personal hawk's leg and set him out the window with the news from Ba Sing Sei. She turned to the bed, redecorated now with a bit more red, and crawled under the covers.

The thoughts would be gone in the morning. They always were.


End file.
